EV Station Owners Becoming Entrepreneurs

Itâ€™s an easy way for EV owners to make some cash off their home charging setup, or for businesses to install public charging stations in their parking lots. Apps like PlugShare and Recargo already let anyone with a free electrical outlet publicize their charging station, and software like WattStation Connect can turn it into a business. Like a convenience store owner who puts an ATM next to the coffee maker and collects the transaction fees, a charging station may soon become yet another source of revenue for anyone with a parking space and an electrical connection.

Using the WattStation Connect software, owners can decide whether the station is public or private, then choose when itâ€™s open and how much a charge should cost. Owners can charge for electricity by the hour, by the kilowatt hour or require a flat rate upfront. Itâ€™s also possible to set up dynamic pricing by time, or allow separate users to pay different rates. For instance, a business owner could let his or her own employees charge for free but ask the general public to chip in for electricity.